The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Silicon Valley says it can build better weapons, faster and cheaper than traditional defense contractors. But what happens when the companies making those weapons also get a say in how they’re used?

In today’s episode, Vox reporter and producer Miles Bryan talks with long-time national security journalist Sharon Weinberger, author of Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War. The book traces Silicon Valley’s deep ties to the military and its return to the weapons business through companies like Palantir, SpaceX, and Anduril. Sharon says this raises troubling questions of how private funding gives tech founders greater control over military technology, and whether their promises of innovation justify risks to accountability.

In this episode, Miles and Sharon explore the surprising CIA contract that helped keep Steve Jobs’s company afloat, how “tech companies” sell their visions to the Pentagon, if their innovations live up to the hype, and whether tech’s disruption of the defense industry could leave us with a more powerful version of the same old system.

Host: Miles Bryan, Vox Reporter and Producer

Guest: Sharon Weinberger, author of Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War

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What does the country lose when one generation refuses to yield power?

In this episode, Vox host Jonquilyn Hill talks with Idrees Kahloon, staff writer at the Atlantic, about why he believes America has become a gerontocracy – a government whose rulers are older than the rest of the population. There’s the age of political leaders in Congress and the White House. And there’s also the economic impact of having Americans over the age of 55 holding nearly three-quarters of the nation's wealth.

Jonquilyn and Idrees examine how this demographic and economic shift came to pass over the last several decades. They get into the political taboo over reforming Social Security and Medicare, the impact of housing market restrictions and zoning on younger home buyers, and the ways that government spending heavily favors older voters.

Guest Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Idrees Kahloon, Staff writer, The Atlantic

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What is happening behind the scenes of America’s largest AI companies? How could the squabbles, ideologies, and goals of their CEOs and engineers shape our future?

In today’s episode, guest host Christine Emba sits down with technology journalist Kevin Roose to discuss his new book, The AGI Chronicles: The Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence. The book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the engineers and tech leaders competing to build artificial superintelligence. The race has sparked a massive data center boom and made a handful of people some of the most powerful decision-makers on Earth.

Christine and Kevin explore the rivalries between frontier labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, the philosophical roots of "p(doom)" and AI safety, and whether recursive self-improvement could push superintelligence beyond human control sooner than we think.

Host: Christine Emba, columnist and author

Guest: Kevin Roose, journalist and author of The AGI Chronicles: The Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence

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What does it mean to have a good life when so much feels wrong?

In this episode of The Gray Area, guest host Jonquilyn Hill speaks with Vox journalist Rachel Wilkerson Miller about her forthcoming book, The Nice Life. Rachel argues that even when we feel anxious or unsettled, we can build a satisfying life through curiosity, friendship, creativity, and generosity. Jonquilyn and Rachel explore how to find joy in difficult times, take pleasure in ordinary things, and share that pleasure with others.

Guest Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Rachel Miller, Vox Senior Even Better & Lifestyle Editor

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Can prediction markets serve a purpose beyond gambling?

In today’s episode, guest host Miles Bryan speaks with professor Finn Brunton in a conversation based on his recent Harper’s article, “The Chaos Machine: Prediction Markets and the Triumph of Crypto-Anarchy.” The two explore alternative visions for prediction markets: as tools for gathering collective knowledge, or as a way to undermine the institutions we rely on. They discuss whether putting money on the line brings us closer to the truth, how betting can create incentives to manipulate events, and what we risk when more of our shared reality becomes something to wager on.

Host: Miles Bryan, Vox Senior Producer and Reporter

Guest: Finn Brunton, Professor at the University of California, Davis

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What happens to a society when its members become increasingly wary of one another, and relationships break down based on gender lines?

In today’s episode, guest host Christine Emba speaks with pollster and writer Dan Cox about his new book Generation Uncoupled: America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection. They consider how and why men and women in America are growing apart, rising safety concerns among young women, and the widening political divide on gender lines.

Host: Christine Emba, columnist and author

Guest: Dan Cox, Director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Generation Uncoupled.

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Is there a humane way for the state to kill someone?

Guest host Miles Bryan sits down with New York Times Magazine writer and ProPublica reporter Pamela Colloff to pull back the curtain on critical flaws in America's approach to the death penalty. From the tragedy of wrongful convictions to the profound impact capital punishment has on victims' families, can the death penalty ever truly be justified?

Drawing on decades of reporting and a new book, Catch the Devil⁠, Colloff examines the reality of executions in states like Florida, the prevalence of unreliable jailhouse informants, and why a system built on human judgment can never be infallible.
Guest Host: Miles Bryan, Vox Senior Producer and Reporter

Guest: Pamela Colloff, author ofCatch the Devil

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Is wanting to be rich selfish? Does making money require exploiting other people? Or can the pursuit of wealth actually benefit society?

In this episode guest host Sally Herships speaks with philosopher Jason Brennan about his book, Why It's OK to Want to Be Rich. Jason makes the case that both wanting money and earning money are signs that we’re creating value for society. In this conversation, they explore why society believes money corrupts relationships, what wealthy individuals owe to society, and the cultural differences around money and wealth.

This episode was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect.

Host: Sally Herships, journalist and director of the audio program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. (Find Sally’s work here).

Guest: Jason Brennan, professor of philosophy and public affairs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

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The Gray Area is taking a break today — but we’ve got something special for you.

We’re dropping an episode from one of our favorite podcasts, Unexplainable from Vox. In it, host Sally Helm considers whether or not it’s ethical to kill lantern flies, an invasive species that has gained a foothold on the East Coast of the US.In the episode Sally explores what we owe other living creatures, how squishing bugs changes us, and what we should do when there is not a single clear moral path.

We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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We were told that airing our personal trauma in public would set us free. Instead, we got “the trauma script,” celebrity branding, and performative empathy.

In today's episode, guest host Christine Emba talks with cultural theorist and professor Catherine Liu, author of Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering. In this scathing book, Catherine argues that our modern obsession with the "trauma script" isn't a radical act of liberation, but rather a distraction from widening economic inequality. They discuss why identity pluralism has eclipsed class struggle, how public therapy speak undermines democratic debate, and why we must move away from commodified self-absorption to focus on collective political and economic change.

Guest Host Christine Emba, columnist and author

Guest: Catherine Liu, author of Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering

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In today's episode, Vox senior reporter and producer Miles Bryan talks with writer Daniel Kolitz about his piece for The Baffler, "Paid Phones." Kolitz explains what it felt like to be among the first wave of workers displaced by generative AI. The two of them talked about how fintech payday loan apps use hidden fees and subscriptions to profit off of desperate borrowers, and how an online community on Reddit is organizing a quiet resistance against predatory lenders.

Guest Host: Miles Bryan, Vox Senior Producer and Reporter

Guest: Daniel Kolitz, author of Paid Phones.

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What should a college teach? How to think? How to find a career? How to be a good citizen? What about how to acquire money, influence, and power?

In today’s episode, guest host Bryan Walsh speaks to journalist and writer Theo Baker about his investigation into Stanford University, where Baker was an undergrad student at the time. He entered the school as a bright-eye freshman, eager to build a career in tech. He left disillusioned by the school’s culture. His book reveals an insidious relationship between Silicon Valley and Stanford, where power, money, and success are prized higher than ethics, education, and the wellbeing of students.

Guest Host: Bryan Walsh, Senior writer, Coefficient Giving

Guest: Theo Baker, author of How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University

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Why does it feel so hard to start a family today? How much of that is truly a personal choice?

In this episode of The Gray Area, guest host Christine Emba sits down with journalist Anna Louie Sussman to discuss her new book, Inconceivable: The Impossibility of Family in an Age of Uncertainty. Together, they look past the surface-level "cost of living" arguments to explore how economic volatility, climate anxiety, and the commodification of reproduction are reshaping the way millennials and Gen Z think about parenthood.

Guest Host Christine Emba, columnist and author

Guest: Anna Luise Sussman, author Inconceivable: The Impossibility of Family in an Age of Uncertainty

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Is "adulthood" a moving target? For millennials, hitting the milestones of the past — homeownership, secure careers, and financial independence — feels tougher than ever. We aren't just having our individual midlife crises; we are simultaneously navigating economic, cultural, and existential crises too.

Guest host Jonquilyn Hill sits down with Amil Niazi, columnist at The Cut, to explore why this stage of life feels so precarious. From the domino effect of the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of the traditional career path, to the pressures of the "sandwich generation" — caretaking for both children and aging parents — we break down why the millennial experience is fundamentally different from generations past.

Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Amil Niazi, columnist The Cut

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If you could change anything about your personality, anything at all, what would it be? And why would you want to change it?

Writer Olga Khazan spent a year trying to answer those questions, and documented the experience in her new book Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change.

In this episode, which originally aired in March of 2025, Sean speaks with Olga about the science of personality change, the work it takes to change yourself, and what makes up a personality, anyway.

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Olga Khazan, author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change.

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We’ve all heard that "sitting is the new smoking," but the research behind that phrase goes much deeper. How bad is sitting for you really?

In this episode guest host Bryan Walsh is joined by Manoush Zomorodi — host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour and author of Body Electric — to explore how our sedentary, screen-filled lives are reshaping our physical health from the neck down. Manoush shares findings from her own clinical trial, where she partnered with scientists to determine the minimum amount of movement the human body actually needs to function.

Whether you're a desk jockey or a parent concerned about screen time, this conversation offers a practical, science-backed approach to reclaiming your physical health in a digital world.

Guest Host: Bryan Walsh, Senior writer, Coefficient Giving

Guest: Manoush Zomorodi, Host, TED Radio Hourand author of Body Electric.

We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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Are we truly alone in the universe? Despite the lack of hard evidence, belief in aliens and UFOs, officially known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), has shifted from the fringes to the center of mainstream culture.

In this episode of The Gray Area, host Jonquilyn Hill is joined by Adam Kirsch, senior editor at The Atlantic and author of the new book We Want to Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream and Why It Matters.

They explore why our fascination with extraterrestrial life persists and what that need to believe tells us about our current relationship with authority, scientific expertise, and even spirituality. The search for aliens has become the ultimate self-portrait of humanity.

Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Adam Kirsch, Senior editor, The Atlantic and author of We Want to Believe

We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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Have you noticed the bad vibes around dating lately? Whether you’re swiping on apps or scrolling through social media, it’s easy to feel like the romantic landscape has become a battleground — at least, for the heterosexual among us. This pervasive feeling of hopelessness and negativity — often called "hetero-pessimism" — is everywhere. But is this cynicism the actual picture, or is it just another digital trap?

In this episode of The Gray Area, host Jonquilyn Hill is joined by Magdalene J. Taylor, senior editor at Playboy. Together, they dissect why we’ve become so hostile towards straight dating, the disconnect between our online expectations and real-world reality, and why Magdalene is making a radical case for "hetero optimism."

Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me

Guest: Magdalene J. Taylor, senior editor for Playboy

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Is it ever okay to put a price on a kidney? Why is it illegal to sell an organ, but perfectly legal to sell blood plasma? This episode explores the world of "repugnant transactions" — the markets we find morally offensive — and asks why we ban certain markets as "gross" or "unethical" while ignoring others that might cause more harm.

In this episode of The Gray Area, host Bryan Walsh sits down with Nobel laureate Alvin Roth, who wrote the recent book Moral Economics, to discuss how markets are the key to understanding our most deeply held social values. They break down why society chooses to ban certain transactions, how those choices affect real lives, and whether we can use "market design" to save people without violating our ethical standards.

Host: Bryan Walsh, Vox Editorial Director

Guest: Alvin Roth, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and author of Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work.

We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show.

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We like to think of memory as a record of the past. But that’s not really what it is. Memory doesn’t keep the past — it can also remake it. It stitches fragments into stories, and those stories — true or not — are what we end up calling our life, and sometimes, our collective history.

Today’s episode is a rerun of an interview that originally published last year with Charan Ranganath, a neuroscientist and author of a book called Why We Remember. The two discuss the strange alchemy of remembering and how the stories our minds create end up creating us.

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Charan Ranganath, neuroscientist and author of Why We Remember

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